Jung Jeng Lake located in Mei Nong in south of Taiwan, is the origin of Mei Nong Hakka culture. Owing to stockbreeding hogs, cultivation and domestic wastewater in the upstream of Jiang Tz Liau River that finally flows into Jung Jeng Lake for years, the lake thus suffered extremely serious problem of eutrophication. In addition, the water hyacinth remain seeds in the lake and reproduce resulting in speeding up the lacustrine silt that would greatly shorten the life of Jung Jeng Lake. Using artificial lagoon and artificial floating island were found able to improve the water quality of lake. Therefore, we could sightseeing resource, historic site, and ecological resources of Mei Nong. This research applied the advantages of ecological engineering methods to restore the Jung Jeng Lake, and thus the southern Taiwan unique Hakka tourism can be presented.

M.Sc. / A common feature of multi gene families is that their members are expressed in different ways in response to environmental and developmental signals. In the present study the expression of a CHS multi gene family in bean (Phase°lus vulgari.), was studied. using a RT-PCR technique that focuses on the 3' divergent regions of the isogenes. Tissue-specific expression in roots, stems, leaves and the flowers of Phaseolus vulgaris, as well as in callus tissue, were investigated. Patterns and levels of gene expression were investigated after treatment with different elicitors as well as light. In most cases time and concentration studies were performed. The four CHS transcripts (CHS4. CHS1. CHS17 and CHS14) showed tissue-specific expression. The four CHS transcripts were differently expressed in the seven organs investigated: and different levels of activity were observed. The highest level of transcript expression for CHS14 and CHS4 could be observed in the roots, whereas relatively low levels were obtained in the leaves. stems and flowers of the green as well as etiolated seedlings. Higher levels of CHS were found in flower buds. High levels of all four transcripts were also found in callus. Elicitor treatment with structurally diverse abiotic agents showed induction of all four CHS mRNA transcripts. Concentration studies revealed high levels of CHS transcript levels. Elicitation with different concentrations of the elicitors: glutathione. mercuric chloride and sodium salicylate showed high levels of the CHS transcripts after exposure of 6 h to the different elicitation agents. The transcript levels increased significantly to levels above those observed in untreated (control) plants. The CHS transcripts showed higher levels of induction after elicitation with mercuric chloride (1 mM) relative to treatment with sodium salicvlate (10 rnM), suggesting differential regulation at the transcriptional level. The expression patterns observed with glutathione were very similarly to those induced by mercuric chloride. The kinetics of induction of all CHS transcripts. except for CHS1 were low at 2 and at 8 h postelicitation and maximal levels of transcript. although transiently induced, could be observed at 4 - 6 h. The use of 4 mM mercuric chloride did not give any induction. most probably because it was a lethal concentration. Etiolated and green bean seedlings, exposed to UV light. showed expression of all four CHS transcripts. In green leaves no significant differences in the induction kinetics between the different chs genes were observed. Three of the transcripts (CHS4. CHSI7. CHS14) accumulated rapidly (within ca. 3h). reaching a maximum after 6 h of irradiation. followed by a decline. CHS4 revealed a 18.2 fold induction. CHSI7 showed a 4.8 fold increase and CHS14 a 4 fold increase after 6 h of illumination in green leaves. In contrast. CHS1 showed a delay ed response which was still observable after 15 h. It was also demonstrated that CHS transcripts accumulated rapidly but transiently. Following illumination of etiolated leaves with white light. except for CHS I. CHS17 and CHS4 showed similar expression levels and patterns. with maximal induction at 1,5 h after white light exposure, whereas maximal induction for CHS14 was at 2 h. At 2.5 Ii the levels for all three transcripts dropped to preinduction levels. It is therefore evident that CHS is a key metabolic control point in the phenylpropanoid pathway leading specifically to isollavonoid biosynthesis. The results strongly suggest that the activation of plant defence genes are regulated in a tissue-specific manner and that induction by different elicitor-active agents. may be regulated by different. But convergent signal transduction regulatory networks.

The great toe is the part of the foot that most often requires surgical intervention. The first metatarsophalangeal joint (FMTPJ) is the most prominent joint of the great toe. Primary causes of FMTPJ failure are rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthrosis and joint degeneration secondary to deformities such as hallux valgus, hallux rigidus or the trauma of previous surgery. FMTPJ prostheses are used to restore a measure of motion, correct deformities and relieve pain. FMTPJ replacement is most often indicated for elderly and less active patients but is contra-indicated for young, rheumatoid and active patients. The most common types of FMTPJ prostheses are made from silicone elastomer. Although these have been in use since the 1960's, there are many problems associated with these and all other types of FMTPJ prostheses. For example, recent research has shown that silicone elastomer metatarsophalangeal arthroplasties may cause severe, chronic silicone granulomatous disease. Also, previous studies of the pressure distribution under normal feet, and pathological feet before and after surgery, can be used to show that FMTPJ prostheses fail to restore normal weight-bearing. In this regard, FMTPJ arthroplasties perform little better than amputation. The reasons for the poor biomechanical performance of FMTPJ arthroplasty are not well documented. Existing theoretical models of FMTPJ function cannot be used to explain why almost all surgery of the first ray causes weight bearing to transfer to the lateral side of the foot. A new hypothesis of FMTPJ function was therefore formulated. It is known that the motions of the FMTPJ are linked to motions of the other bones of the foot and ankle because the strong fibrous tissues of the plantar aponeurosis connect the hallux to the calcaneus. However, it is hypothesised that the particular orientation of the bones at the final stages of the stance phase is crucial to the weight-bearing functions of the FMTPJ. A specification for a new prosthesis was therefore developed in accordance with the biomechanical principles contained in the hypothesis. Various potential designs of prosthesis were investigated, but a ball-and-socket configuration was selected because it appeared to allow the motions necessary to restore normal loading in the foot. Three slightly different prototype ball-and-socket FMTPJ prostheses were designed and manufactured. These prototypes were inserted into cadavers; which allowed the range of motion of the prototype prostheses to be assessed in relation to the constraints imposed by the strong fibrous attachments in the foot. Some of the rudimentary surgical techniques and the instruments required to insert and align the prostheses were developed. The various design features that had been incorporated in the different prototypes were assessed in terms of their relevance to ultimate performance of the arthroplasty. In order to verify the biomechanical design principles, cadaveric FMTP joints were tested for range of motion before and after inserting the prostheses. The results were compared to the range of motions obtained from a dry bone specimen, and to the most successful FMTPJ design to date- a double-stem silicone elastomer prosthesis. Finally, the results from all the tests were compared and discussed in relation to the original hypothesis about the function of the great toe. The results obtained from the new prosthesis were sufficiently encouraging to be able to recommend that the prototype be manufactured for further clinical trials. The new prosthesis was found to simulate the conditions that are necessary to re-establish normal weight-bearing patterns in the foot; such as an elevated centre of rotation for the proximal end of the first metatarsal bone, tension in the plantar aponeurosis, mobile bones in the arch, and weight-bearing by the first metatarsal. Previous prostheses used in FMTPJ arthroplasty are believed to be inadequate in that they do not restore at least one of these conditions, which ultimately lead to implant failure. Within the limits of cadaver trials, the new design has demonstrated that it has the potential to succeed.

The issues of wetland protection has been looked at attentively in Taiwan. However, the action of protecting wetlands can not replace the wetlands lost in speedy developments, which causes the wetland ecosystem in natural environment of Taiwan vanished stage by stage. The idea of ¡§created wetland¡¨ refers to the conversion of a persistent upland or shallow-water area into a wetland by human activity to help to compensate the natural wetlands lost due to destruction by human beings. Such kind of wetland is used to restore wetlands or to let it become a parkland. Created wetlands are different from ¡§constructed wetland¡¨ emphasize the function of wastewater treatment. In the past, park in urban area was usually designed for human use which caused other organisms can not abundantly, and thus the ecosystem in municipal areas became poor. Hence, there is a new concept that we combine the created wetland and park together in order to improve the biodiversity of the ecosystem in urban area. The Zhou-zai wetland park is located beside the Lotus pond in Zuo-ying of Kaohsiung City. This created wetland was initially wanted to attract Pheasant-tailed Jacana come Kaohsiung through the ecosystem. The park was not only designed for human activities but also for other creatures. We tried to use ¡§ecological engineering methods¡¨ to build this artificial habitat. We hope it can promote the biodiversity in urban city by this wetland ecosystem. In this study, we use Zhou-zai wetland park as a case study, and probed into the principles of planning and management in urban created wetland park. It was hoped that the result of this research can provide some consults about constructing created wetland parks in the feature in Taiwan, so that the strategies of wetland protection can then become positive.

<p>The world of systems engineering methods is changing as rigorous ‘off-the-shelf’ systems engineering methods become more popular. One example of such a systems engineering method is Rational Unified Process. In order to cover all phases in a software development process, and a wide range of project-types, such methods need to be of an impressive size. Thus, the need for configuring such methods in a structured way is increasing accordingly. In this thesis, method configuration is considered as a particular kind of method engineering that focuses on tailoring a standard systems engineering method. We propose a meta-method for method configuration based on two fundamental values: standard systems engineering method’s rationality and reuse. A conceptual framework is designed, introducing the concepts Configuration Package and Configuration Template. A Configuration Package is a pre-made ideal method configuration suitable for a delimited characteristic of a (type of) software artifact, or a (type of) software development project, or a combination thereof. Configuration Templates with different characteristics are built combining a selection of Configuration Packages and used as a base for a situational method. The aim of the proposed meta-method is to ease the burden of configuring the standard systems engineering method in order to reach an appropriate situational method.</p>

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The aim of this current study was to determine if the exposure of human dental pulp stem cells (HDPSC) to the DynaMatrix membrane will result in an increased production of angiogenic cytokines that are critical for pulp/root regeneration. Angiogenesis cytokine arrays have been established as a viable method for assessing expression of cytokines.20 HDPSC were chosen as they are expected to be found in the apical papilla and the infected immature root canal system of teeth that current regenerative endodontic techniques are designed to treat.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Endodontic treatment of the infected immature tooth has undergone a dramatic change. Conventional endodontic treatment can control infection, but root development usually remains impaired. A novel regenerative endodontic procedure, the revascularization method, can now control the infection and enable such teeth to continue root development. This is done by creating a fibrin-matrix scaffold in the antibiotic treated root canal space (RCS). Dental stem cells and growth factors have been able to continue root development in such an environment. The fibrin-matrix scaffold is dependent on the induction of a blood clot into the RCS, and this cannot always be predictably induced. PDS is a biocompatible material that can be electrospun to provide a matrix for cells and growth factors and perhaps improve on the blood clot induced fibrin scaffold by incorporating metronidazole as an adjuvant antimicrobial. A metronidazole containing electrospun PDS scaffold was examined in vitro using a turbidimetric test, the modified direct contact test. This scaffold significantly inhibited growth of an anaerobic primary endodontic pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis. This scaffold may improve the treatment of the infected immature tooth by providing a designed matrix for root regeneration while serving simultaneously as an antibiotic drug delivery device to disinfect the RCS. The aim of this study is to evaluate in vitro the property of a synthetic scaffold to function as an antibacterial drug delivery device. PDS*II (polydioxanone) suture was obtained from Ethicon, INC. (Somerville, NJ) and was dissolved in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol, HFIP (Sigma Aldrich). Three different scaffolds were electrospun onto an aluminum foil background; (1) control scaffold with no antibiotic incorporated, (2) scaffold with 5.0-wt % metronidazole incorporated, and (3) 25-wt % metronidazole incorporated. All scaffolds were cut using a 4-mm diameter biopsy punch under aseptic conditions and removed from foil, control scaffold (n = 64), scaffold containing 5.0-wt % metronidazole (n = 32), and scaffold containing 25-wt % metronidazole (n=32). Experimental scaffolds were placed in a 96- well sterile flat bottom microtiter plate. Porphyromonas gingivalis a known primary endodontic pathogen was grown in 5 ml of BHI + YE with 0.25 μl of vitamin K with incubation at 37°C under anaerobic conditions for 48 hours. Microplates were sterilized before inoculation with Pg with 400 μl of 70-percent EtOH for a minimum of 30 minutes then pipetted out. After sterilization the microwells were washed with 400 μl of sterile water and pipetted out. Group 1 (negative control) microwells (n = 8) contained control scaffold and 190 μl of broth only. Group 2 (positive control) microwells (n = 8) contained 190 μl of broth and Pg only. Group 3 microwells (n = 8) contained control scaffold, 190 μl of broth, and 10 μl of Pg inoculum. Group 4 microwells (n = 8) contained scaffold with 5 wt % metronidazole, 190 μl of broth, and 10 μl of Pg inoculum. Group 5 microwells (n = 8) contained scaffold with 25 wt % metronidazole, 190 μl of broth, and 10 μl of Pg inoculum. Group 6 contained 190 μl of uninoculated broth for spectrophotometer calibration. Sterile microplate lids were used to isolate microwells from the surrounding environment. Microplates were incubated at 37°C under anaerobic conditions for 48 hours. After 48 hours the microplates were read by using an endpoint reading in the spectrophotometer. This was repeated four times. Comparisons among the groups for differences in optical density as a measure of bacterial growth were made using mixed-model ANOVA, with a fixed effect for group and a random effect for experimental run. Pair-wise group comparisons were performed using Tukey's multiple comparisons procedure to control the overall significance level at 5 percent. The analyses were performed using the ranks of the data. Broth had significantly lower OD than all other groups (p < 0.0001). Broth+Pg and Broth+Pg+Scaffold had significantly higher OD than 5-wt % Metro (p < 0.0001) and 25-wt % Metro (p < 0.0001), but Broth+Pg and Broth+Pg+Scaffold were not significantly different from each other (p = 0.97). 5-wt % Metro and 25-wt % Metro were not significantly different from each other (p = 0.24). From the results of our study, we concluded that the 5.0-wt % and 25-wt % metronidazole containing scaffolds significantly inhibited bacterial growth and could be effectively utilized for the endodontic regeneration procedure.

The world of systems engineering methods is changing as rigorous ‘off-the-shelf’ systems engineering methods become more popular. One example of such a systems engineering method is Rational Unified Process. In order to cover all phases in a software development process, and a wide range of project-types, such methods need to be of an impressive size. Thus, the need for configuring such methods in a structured way is increasing accordingly. In this thesis, method configuration is considered as a particular kind of method engineering that focuses on tailoring a standard systems engineering method. We propose a meta-method for method configuration based on two fundamental values: standard systems engineering method’s rationality and reuse. A conceptual framework is designed, introducing the concepts Configuration Package and Configuration Template. A Configuration Package is a pre-made ideal method configuration suitable for a delimited characteristic of a (type of) software artifact, or a (type of) software development project, or a combination thereof. Configuration Templates with different characteristics are built combining a selection of Configuration Packages and used as a base for a situational method. The aim of the proposed meta-method is to ease the burden of configuring the standard systems engineering method in order to reach an appropriate situational method.

Multimedia production is an elaborate activity composed of multiple information management and transformation tasks that support an underlying creative goal. Examples of these activities are structuring, organization, modification and versioning of media elements, all of which depend on the maintenance of supporting documentation and metadata. In professional productions, which can count on proper human and material resources, such documentation is maintained by the production crew, being key to secure a high quality in the final content. In less resourceful configurations, such as amateur-oriented productions, at least reasonable quality standards are desirable in most cases, however the perceived difficulty in managing and transforming content can inhibit amateurs on producing content with acceptable quality. This problem has been tackled in many fronts, for instance via annotation methods, smart browsing methods and authoring techniques, just to name a few. In this dissertation, the primary objective is to take advantage of user-created annotations in order to aid amateur-oriented multimedia authoring. In order to support this objective, the contributions are built around an authoring approach based on structured multimedia documents. First, a custom language for Web-based multimedia documents is defined, based on SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language). This language brings several contributions, such as the formalization of an extended graph-based temporal layout model, live editing of document elements and extended reuse features. Second, a model for document annotation and an algebra for document transformations are defined, both of which allows composition and extraction of multimedia document fragments based on annotations. Third, the previous contributions are integrated into a Web-based authoring tool, which allows manipulating a document while it is active. Such manipulations encompass several interaction techniques for enriching, editing, publishing and extending multimedia documents. The contributions have been instantiated with multimedia sessions obtained from synchronous collaboration tools, in scenarios of video-based lectures, meetings and video-based qualitative research. Such instantiations demonstrate the applicability and utility of the contributions / Produção multimídia é uma atividade complexa composta por múltiplas atividades de gerência e transformação de informação, as quais suportam um objetivo de criar conteúdo. Exemplos dessas atividades são estruturação, organização, modificação e versionamento de elementos de mídia, os quais dependem da manutenção de documentos auxiliares e metadados. Em produções profissionais, as quais podem contar com recursos humanos e materiais adequados, tal documentação é mantida pela equipe de produção, sendo instrumental para garantir a uma alta qualidade no produto final. Em configurações com menos recursos, como produções amadoras, ao menos padrões razoáveis de qualidade são desejados na maioria dos casos, contudo a dificuldade em gerenciar e transformar conteúdo pode inibir amadores a produzir conteúdo com qualidade aceitável. Esse problema tem sido atacado em várias frentes, por exemplo via métodos de anotação, métodos de navegação e técnicas de autoria, apenas para nomear algumas. Nesta tese, o objetivo principal é tirar proveito de anotações criadas pelo usuário com o intuito de apoiar autoria multimídia por amadores. De modo a subsidiar esse objetivo, as contribuições são construídas em torno uma abordagem de autoria baseada em documentos multimídia estruturados. Primeiramente, uma linguagem customizada para documentos multimídia baseados na Web é definida, baseada na linguagem SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language). Esta linguagem traz diversas contribuições, como a formalização de um modelo estendido para formatação temporal baseado em grafos, edição ao vivo de elementos de um documento e funcionalidades de reúso. Em segundo, um modelo para anotação de documentos e uma álgebra para transformação de documentos são definidos, ambos permitindo composição e extração de fragmentos de documentos multimídia com base em anotações. Em terceiro, as contribuições anteriores são integradas em uma ferramenta de autoria baseada na Web, a qual permite manipular um documento enquanto o mesmo está ativo. Tais manipulações envolvem diferentes técnicas de interação com o objetivo de enriquecer, editar, publicar e estender documentos multimídia interativos. As contribuições são instanciadas com sessões multimídia obtidas de ferramentas de colaboração síncrona, em cenários de aulas baseadas em vídeos, reuniões e pesquisa qualitativa baseada em vídeos. Tais instanciações demonstram a aplicabilidade e utilidade das contribuições

Multimedia production is an elaborate activity composed of multiple information management and transformation tasks that support an underlying creative goal. Examples of these activities are structuring, organization, modification and versioning of media elements, all of which depend on the maintenance of supporting documentation and metadata. In professional productions, which can count on proper human and material resources, such documentation is maintained by the production crew, being key to secure a high quality in the final content. In less resourceful configurations, such as amateur-oriented productions, at least reasonable quality standards are desirable in most cases, however the perceived difficulty in managing and transforming content can inhibit amateurs on producing content with acceptable quality. This problem has been tackled in many fronts, for instance via annotation methods, smart browsing methods and authoring techniques, just to name a few. In this dissertation, the primary objective is to take advantage of user-created annotations in order to aid amateur-oriented multimedia authoring. In order to support this objective, the contributions are built around an authoring approach based on structured multimedia documents. First, a custom language for Web-based multimedia documents is defined, based on SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language). This language brings several contributions, such as the formalization of an extended graph-based temporal layout model, live editing of document elements and extended reuse features. Second, a model for document annotation and an algebra for document transformations are defined, both of which allows composition and extraction of multimedia document fragments based on annotations. Third, the previous contributions are integrated into a Web-based authoring tool, which allows manipulating a document while it is active. Such manipulations encompass several interaction techniques for enriching, editing, publishing and extending multimedia documents. The contributions have been instantiated with multimedia sessions obtained from synchronous collaboration tools, in scenarios of video-based lectures, meetings and video-based qualitative research. Such instantiations demonstrate the applicability and utility of the contributions / Produção multimídia é uma atividade complexa composta por múltiplas atividades de gerência e transformação de informação, as quais suportam um objetivo de criar conteúdo. Exemplos dessas atividades são estruturação, organização, modificação e versionamento de elementos de mídia, os quais dependem da manutenção de documentos auxiliares e metadados. Em produções profissionais, as quais podem contar com recursos humanos e materiais adequados, tal documentação é mantida pela equipe de produção, sendo instrumental para garantir a uma alta qualidade no produto final. Em configurações com menos recursos, como produções amadoras, ao menos padrões razoáveis de qualidade são desejados na maioria dos casos, contudo a dificuldade em gerenciar e transformar conteúdo pode inibir amadores a produzir conteúdo com qualidade aceitável. Esse problema tem sido atacado em várias frentes, por exemplo via métodos de anotação, métodos de navegação e técnicas de autoria, apenas para nomear algumas. Nesta tese, o objetivo principal é tirar proveito de anotações criadas pelo usuário com o intuito de apoiar autoria multimídia por amadores. De modo a subsidiar esse objetivo, as contribuições são construídas em torno uma abordagem de autoria baseada em documentos multimídia estruturados. Primeiramente, uma linguagem customizada para documentos multimídia baseados na Web é definida, baseada na linguagem SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language). Esta linguagem traz diversas contribuições, como a formalização de um modelo estendido para formatação temporal baseado em grafos, edição ao vivo de elementos de um documento e funcionalidades de reúso. Em segundo, um modelo para anotação de documentos e uma álgebra para transformação de documentos são definidos, ambos permitindo composição e extração de fragmentos de documentos multimídia com base em anotações. Em terceiro, as contribuições anteriores são integradas em uma ferramenta de autoria baseada na Web, a qual permite manipular um documento enquanto o mesmo está ativo. Tais manipulações envolvem diferentes técnicas de interação com o objetivo de enriquecer, editar, publicar e estender documentos multimídia interativos. As contribuições são instanciadas com sessões multimídia obtidas de ferramentas de colaboração síncrona, em cenários de aulas baseadas em vídeos, reuniões e pesquisa qualitativa baseada em vídeos. Tais instanciações demonstram a aplicabilidade e utilidade das contribuições